Referee accused of taking a dive after Luisao knock down

Referee Christian Fischer has been accused of taking a dive after falling to the floor following a confrontation with Benfica captain Luisao during a friendly against Fortuna Dusseldorf.

The official ended up on the deck after a coming together with the Brazilian, who was angry about the decision to show his team-mate Javi Garcia a second yellow card for a terrible challenge on Fortuna midfielder Oliver Fink.

Referee Christian Fischer hit the deck after being confronted by Luisao (YouTube)

Fischer remained motionless on the ground, before he received medical treatment and then abandoned the match after just 39 minutes.

Benfica were furious about the referee’s behaviour and the incident was described as a ‘lamentable display of theatre’ on the Portuguese club’s official website.

Luisao also insisted Fischer had gone down very easily and that he had done nothing wrong.

‘I was surprised. I did not make any aggressive move. I tried to be ahead of my colleagues and I saw the referee fall,’ the Brazilian claimed.

‘I tried to talk to the assistants still on the pitch to explain my intention.’

It isn’t clear from the video footage whether the fall resulted from a push, a bodycheck or an accidental collision, but Luisao said he has a ‘clear conscience’ and does not expect to be punished for the incident.

Fortuna president Peter Frymuth saw things differently and has threatened to report Benfica and Luisao to UEFA.

‘I’m shocked. I’ve been in football for many years and have never seen anything like it,’ he told A Bola.

‘Let’s get help from the German federation and talk with UEFA about Luisao, and about what other players of Benfica did. I hope they are severely punished.’